


Whatever It Takes: An Ode to Tony Stark

by spidersonas



Series: In Reviewing the Actions of Tony Stark [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Canon, Canon Compliant, Don't touch me I'm still crying, Everything I write about is canon, I just can't tag without giving away too many spoilers, I swear this is really well written(I hope), I'm just heartbreakingly reviewing everything that happened, Just has a lot more feelings and shit, Song fic, This is all canon, Tony Stark Has Issues, endgame spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2020-02-09 20:13:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18645277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spidersonas/pseuds/spidersonas
Summary: Whatever it takes'Cause I love the adrenaline in my veinsI do whatever it takes'Cause I love how it feels when I break the chainsWhatever it takes-An ode to Tony Stark, a man who was better than us all. A man who wore a mask.





	Whatever It Takes: An Ode to Tony Stark

**Author's Note:**

> Tony Stark, I love you 3000. Thank you for being who you are.  
> The song to listen for this fic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOsM-DYAEhY

**Whatever It Takes**

_Falling too fast to prepare for this_  
_Tripping in the world could be dangerous_  
_Everybody circling, it's vulturous  
_ _Negative, nepotist_

When his father died, Tony was 21. He wasn’t ready to face the world, so he hid. He put on a mask. The arrogant smirk and confident tilt of the head became second nature, and that was what the media saw. In their eyes, he was solid Teflon—never bothered, never harassed. He was Tony Stark, genius billionaire playboy philanthropist.

Inside, he was suffocating. He was falling with no ground in sight, nowhere to land. He fell over the edge at the age of 21, tripping and stumbling into smothering darkness that clouded his senses.

He didn’t know who he was anymore. He lost all sense of self, faded into that award winning smile that the media seemed to love.

He wore his mask proudly. He was Tony Stark.

 _Everybody waiting for the fall of man_  
_Everybody praying for the end of times_  
_Everybody hoping they could be the one  
_ _I was born to run, I was born for this_

When shards of shrapnel pierced his heart, Tony was 38. He had been convinced that he would never get himself back, that the mask he had created would stay there forever.

As it turned out, the mask was a bandaid—just rip it off, and it would be over. “I am Iron Man,” he said, and the mask was gone. The person that the news saw was the same, but inside, he had found steady ground. He knew who he was again for the first time in seventeen years.

Now he had a new mask. He was Iron Man.

 _Whip, whip_  
_Run me like a racehorse_  
_Pull me like a ripcord  
_ _Break me down and build me up_

When the aliens invaded New York, Tony was 42. He faced them alongside a team constructed by Nick Fury, a man who saw past his mask and recognized his potential. Steve Rogers, American legend. Natasha Romanoff, trained spy. Clint Barton, master archer. Thor Odinson, Asgardian prince. Bruce Banner, genius scientist. The Avengers.

Tony had no mask when he guided a nuclear missile into the wormhole above New York City. He was back in the dark, suffocating and drowning. He was back in the dark for the first time in four years.

He had no mask when he fell. He was crying.

 _I wanna be the slip, slip_  
_Word upon your lip, lip_  
_Letter that you rip, rip  
_ _Break me down and build me up_

When he crash landed in Tennessee with a broken suit, Tony was 43. His mask cracked, and he fell. Then there was a young boy.

Harley Keener reminded Tony of himself as a child. Curious, bold, smart. Harley helped Tony fix his mask, picking up the pieces and putting them together. Harley fixed the mask, and, in the process, took a part of it away. Tony was almost himself for the first time in twenty two years.

His mask was almost see-through. He was getting better.

 _Whatever it takes_  
_'Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins_  
_I do whatever it takes_  
_'Cause I love how it feels when I break the chains  
_ _Whatever it takes_

When he created a robot that almost destroyed the world, Tony was 45. He just wanted to protect the world, to save it. That was all he wanted to do.

He was dealing with dangerous magic; he should’ve known better. Ultron rose from the rubble of his experiments, and Tony was scared. It was his fault, he thought. It was always his fault.

He was suffocating again, withdrawing back into himself. He hid behind his mask once more. It was solid metal again for the first time in seven years.

His mask was back. He was hiding again.

 _You take me to the top I'm ready for_  
_Whatever it takes_  
_'Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins_  
_I do what it takes_  
_Always had a fear of being typical_  
_Looking at my body feeling miserable_  
_Always hanging on to the visual  
_ _I wanna be invisible_

When he met Peter Parker, Tony was 46. The kid was 14, and the moment he met him, his mask almost slipped. Just like with Harley, Tony saw a piece of himself in him.

Peter was energetic and excitable, but there was a hidden exhaustion behind his eyes. Tony probably wouldn’t have recognized it if it weren’t for the same tired sadness staring back at him every time he looked in a mirror.

He wanted to hold him and tell him that everything was going to be okay, everything would fix itself, it would be fine—but he couldn’t. He couldn’t lie to this sweet boy, who didn’t deserve anything that life threw at him. He couldn’t tell him that everything was going to be okay, because it wasn’t. It never was.

There was an aching pain in his chest when he remembered what he had come to ask Spider-Man to do, and he almost didn’t do it. He felt pity for the first time in forty six years.

His mask was slipping again. He was regretful.

 _Looking at my years like a martyrdom_  
_Everybody needs to be a part of 'em  
_ _Never be enough, I'm the prodigal son_

When he fought the man that he had pinned so much hope on, Tony was 46. He called on people he had known for years to fight against their friends, their family. He called on people he had known for days to fight against their idols, their enemies.

There was that feeling again, a sad aching in his heart, when he faced Captain America, a man who he had grown up with bedtime stories about. He almost slipped up, almost apologized, almost forgave. But he couldn’t. He had a reputation to maintain. He had a war to win. He pushed back the angry tears and kept fighting, taking out his anger on who he thought were his friends. He fought with a team that wasn’t his own for the first time in four years.

His mask hid his tears. He was ruining everything.

 _I was born to run, I was born for this_  
_Whip, whip_  
_Run me like a racehorse_  
_Pull me like a ripcord  
_ _Break me down and build me up_

When he took away the suit that kept Peter Parker safe, Tony was 46. The familiar feeling of regret washed over him at the heartbroken look on Peter’s face, but he resisted the urge to reach out and instead turned away.

When he heard about the building that came tumbling and crashing around Peter, he wanted to cry. He wanted to scream, sob, punch a wall—anything to take away the overwhelming sense of wrong that weighed his heart. But he didn’t. He smiled and returned the suit and tried to make everything better, but he knew it wasn’t enough. Nothing could fix this. Nothing could reverse the pain that the kid who he saw so much of himself in had felt. The day that Peter rejected his offer to be in the Avengers, Tony made a promise—this kid wasn’t going to die on his watch. He was going to keep a promise he made for the first time in a few months.

His mask was back, but it was okay. He was going to make everything okay.

 _I wanna be the slip, slip_  
_Word upon your lip, lip_  
_Letter that you rip, rip  
_ _Break me down and build me up_

When his world turned upside down, Tony was 48. His life hadn’t been perfect, but it was coming back together, piece by piece. Then he saw aliens invading his home for the second time, and his world came crashing down around him. The ground shatter, the sky fell, and he was back in the darkness, trying to find steady footing. But this time he was prepared. He wasn’t alone.

He fought against the aliens that were ravaging his home with people who he hardly knew, people who he loved, people he wasn’t sure were going to make it out alive. He boarded a spaceship headed for the person that was doing this. He was going to fix this if it was the last thing he did. He was going to make everything better. Then he saw Peter on that ship with him, and his world crashed for the second time that day. He saw the kid who meant so much to him for the first time in days.

His mask fell, but Peter never saw. He couldn’t fix this.

 _Whatever it takes_  
_'Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins_  
_I do whatever it takes_  
_'Cause I love how it feels when I break the chains  
_ _Whatever it takes_

When he lost the one person that he had vowed to protect, Tony was 48. He held Peter in his arms as he faded away. He broke his promise. That innocent kid who had so much to live for was screaming, crying, sobbing, and Tony couldn’t help him. He never could.

Then there was dust on his hands, and Tony’s mask fell again. He cried. He cried for Peter, he cried for Pepper, he cried for Steve, he cried for Strange, and he cried for himself. He cried for the first time in hours.

No more mask. He was going to reverse this.

 _You take me to the top, I'm ready for_  
_Whatever it takes_  
_'Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins  
_ _I do what it takes_

When he touched solid ground again, Tony was 48. The first person he saw was Steven Grant Rogers, a man who he had fought alongside, a man who he had fought, and there were tears in eyes. “I lost the kid.” He almost collapsed.

The second person he saw was Pepper Potts, the woman he had loved for so long. That was when he broke. In her arms, he was safe. She would fix him. She had to. He let himself break down in front of someone for the first time in 48 years.

He wouldn’t let his mask stop him. He was loved.

 _Hypocritical, egotistical_  
_Don't wanna be the parenthetical, hypothetical_  
_Working onto something that I'm proud of, out of the box  
_ _An epoxy to the world and the vision we've lost_

When he saw his little girl for the first time, Tony was 50. He cried when he looked at her sweet face. He cried every time she got hurt. He cried every time she was scared.

He couldn’t save Peter, but he was going to save Morgan Howard Stark. He was going to make this world a place she could live in, no matter the cost. He was going to make the world safe and sound for her, despite the terrible circumstances. Everything was going to be okay. He promised to protect a child who didn’t deserve pain for the first time in four years.

He didn’t have a mask anymore. He was going to keep this promise if it was the last thing he did.

 _I'm an apostrophe_  
_I'm just a symbol to remind you that there's more to see_  
_I'm just a product of the system, a catastrophe  
_ _And yet a masterpiece, and yet I'm half-diseased_

When he travelled through time, Tony was 53. He was scared, he had to admit. But now, working alongside men he hadn’t seen in years, his mask was back, and no one knew the fear that lingered in his mind. He put that arrogant smirk from so long ago back on, and he tilted his chin up, and he was okay.

If he was being honest, quantum space travel reminded him of the wormhole from the Battle of New York. That suffocating feeling was the same, even if it was only a few seconds. Then they were back in 2012 and goddammit if it wasn’t worse this time around. Watching all the destruction around him sent him into a downward spiral, but he couldn’t let them see that. He put his mask back on for the first time in five years.

His mask covered the tears. He was going to win this war.

 _And when I am deceased_  
_At least I go down to the grave and die happily_  
_Leave the body and my soul to be a part of thee  
_ _I do what it takes_

When he saw aliens invading for the third time, Tony was 53. This time, he was ready. He had his suit, and he had his teammates, his friends. Everyone was back. The snap had been undone.

He had watched with a smile as glowing orange portals opened all around, building up their ranks until there were thousands on his side. He could see Pepper in the Rescue suit that he had made for her, he could see Dr. Strange with glowing symbols around him, he could see King T’Challa and his army chanting, but he didn’t see— Oh. There he was. Swinging in through a portal, there was Peter Parker, the kid who he had lost. A sob choked his throat, but he kept fighting. He had to win this war. For Morgan. For Peter. He saw Spider-Man for the first time in five years.

As soon as this fight was over, he was going to take off the mask and never put it back on. He was going to win for them.

 _Whatever it takes_  
_'Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins  
_ _I do whatever it takes_

When he snapped his fingers, Tony was 53. He hadn’t expected it to hurt so much. Fire burned through his arm, and if it weren’t for the pain, he would’ve been sure that he had lost the limb. His fingers were numb, though. He had fallen. He was dying.

Then there was Peter. There was Peter sobbing, crying, telling him not to go, and he didn’t want to. He wanted to stay there for forever with Peter in his arms and never let him go. There was Pepper, smiling sadly with tears in her eyes and telling him that everything was going to be okay. He didn’t believe her for the first time since they met. He cried for the last time in fifty three years.

His mask was gone, shattered. He was dying.

 _'Cause I love how it feels when I break the chains_  
_Whatever it takes_  
_You take me to the top, I'm ready for_  
_Whatever it takes  
_ _'Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins_

When he died, Tony was 53. He died on the battlefield with his friends at his side. His family was at his side. He had won the battle. He died with a broken smile on his face.

He left his family a message, in the event that he died. They watched it with tears in their eyes at the funeral. Everyone was at the funeral. Pepper. Morgan. Harley. Happy. Peter. Nick Fury. So many more. So many came to see him off, because that was just the effect that he had. He was really gone for the first time in fifty three years.

The world now knew that it was just a mask. He did whatever it took.

_I do what it takes._

**Author's Note:**

> I might make this a series with reviewing the lives of other characters that died or are close to dying, comment if you want me to, and if so, what character and what song  
> I'll probably remove all the Endgame spoiler warnings in about a month  
> This took me a day to write  
> Song is Whatever It Takes by Imagine Dragons!!


End file.
